A Look Back at Year 2000

    Seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the Millennium and now here I am looking back on the year 2000. This much I can say - it's been a great year for me.    I occasionally like to make lists of positives, mostly to stop myself dwelling on the negatives, so here goes:

                    Positives

                    2 solo shows
                    2 open studios with record attendance
                    made it into the Sausalito Art Festival for the 3rd year running
                    taught more collage workshops, all filled to capacity
                    summer mixed-media class so full, I had to teach it twice
                    invited again to teach at Amsterdam Art Tools of the Trade Show
                    editor of Somerset Studio magazine will do a  feature on my work
                    Pioneer Library System of Oklahoma will use my art for the cover of their next brochure
                    published my first article for Art Calendar Magazine
                    published several articles on www.wetcanvas.com
                    won Best of Show at Artisans Gallery
                    was accepted for several out-of-state juried shows
                    sold my art over the internet
                    limited edition prints published by Visualize selling well
                    visited the Tate Modern in London
                    sold my first piece of art to a movie star  (Chris Noth of "Law and Order") via his agent
                    received sponsorship for workshops from Savoir-Faire
                    paid for professional framing on a new series of collages (I usually frame them myself)
                    started a new series of abstract paintings with less collage
                    the 'Women Series' really took off
                    produced my first glossy brochure on the computer
                    began using a digital camera for both web images and prints
                    made enough income to give up my day job!

Not too bad...  But there were some negatives:

                    Negatives

                    completed only half the number of paintings I did last year (no time)
                    sales at all events were slower, though still healthy
                    was turned down for the usual proportion of juried shows
                    failed to complete an online course on Photoshop (no time)
                    mailings cost me a small fortune
                    didn't send off slides to ANY slide registries (no time)
                    was turned down by Hang Gallery in San Francisco
                    only applied to one other gallery (no time)
                    made no inroads into the corporate market (no time)
                    BIG storage problem in the studio!

    The 'no time' factor has obviously been my biggest problem, but I'm hoping that I'll solve some of it when I retire from my middle-school teaching job next June. Right now I often get interesting offers in the mail, which I set aside until I've got time to think about them, then forget them, or miss the deadline. There have been many shows I'd like to enter, galleries I'd like to apply to, workshops I'd like to teach, grant applications I'd like to complete - opportunities lost because of the pressures of a salaried job. On the other hand, a salaried job does pay the bills rather effectively! It's quite a scary thought that I won't be receiving a regular check every month after next June. I've already started trying to kick my addiction to art books.

Now I'm really looking forward to 2001, after a week in Palm Springs to recuperate.

                                                                                            Ann Baldwin 12/19/2000

Other articles:

        January 2000 entry (New Year's Resolutions)
         February 2000 entry (Painting in the Mexican Jungle)
        April 2000 entry    (Attending Bay Area art openings)
        July 2000 entry    (Looking at Art in Europe)